S. 1959: The New Legislation A-brewing

By Author: Jaun Paul
Total Articles: 53
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Now the picture is clear. Some legislators think that regulators still don't have the statutory tools available to crack down on healthcare fraud. There's a new legislation doing the rounds - S. 1959 - and in case you've been too busy coming to terms with the sea of final rules in November, read on and find out more:


This new health care fraud enforcement bill has been introduced by Senator Ted Kaufman (D-DE) and co-sponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Committee members Arlen Specter (D-PA), Herb Kohl (D-WI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).


According to Kaufman's press release, the bill is inspired by legislation to crack down on mortgage fraud and other financial crimes along with health care reform legislation that would make the federal government an even bigger health care payor.


S. 1959 would beef up sentencing for health care fraud crimes, define all claims ...
... made following illegal kickbacks as false claims under the False Claims Act, clarify the ‘mental state' requirement for proving health care fraud, and boost funding for the government to fight health fraud.


While commenting in Home Care Law Blog (www.homecarelawblog.com), Robert Markette said, Kaufman's bill aims to deter the n'er-do-wells who flock to health care fraud because it's so hard to detect and the risks are low, but if passed, it likely would do little more than make it harder for law-abiding providers to do business.

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